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Monday, 30 November 2015

This was so much harder than I thought it was going to me, I really thought it would be easy to cast the perfect Christmas movie but it really isn't. After hours of pondering, this is what I have come up with.Santa Claus - Hal from Malcolm in the Middle (Bryan Cranston)

In most Christmas movies, Santa is the boss. He works tirelessly to keep the helpers on track to make all the presents in time for Christmas. As far as the helpers are concerned xxx is the boss but behind the scenes, Santa is completely whipped by Mrs Claus, the real brains behind the operation.Scrooge/Grinch/Mrs Claus - Megan from Bridesmaids (Melissa McCarthy)

Megan was initially attracted to Hal's power as Santa but over time has taken over the North Pole and runs it her way. Hal doesn't have the balls to argue with her so just leaves her to it to live an easy life but Megan has no idea how to run the business and things start to go awry.Santa's Sidekick - Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones (Peter Dinklage)

Tyrion is completely aware of the control Mrs Claus has over Santa but no matter how much he tells Hal, he just wont listen. In the end, he has to recruit outside help to when Mrs Claus' interference threatens to destroy Christmas.Santa’s Helpers - Minions (Stuart, Bob, Kevin and friends) from Minions

Stuart, Bob and Kevin (as head helpers) ran the toy factory with perfect synchronicity making millions of toys for all the good children if the world, that is until Mrs Claus decided they weren't right for the job and brought in their replacements.....Mrs Claus' Helpers - Magic Mike (Channing Tatum), Big Dick Richie (Joe Manganiello), Ken (Matt Bomer) and Tito (Adam Rodriguez) from Magic Mike XXL

...Mrs Claus brings her new helpers for their 'talents' and 'assets' but spends all of her time making them dance for her and now it's 3 days until Christmas and there are no toys for all the good children.The Children - Mikey (Sean Astin), Mouth (Corey Feldman), Data (Jonathan Ke Quan) and Chunk (Jeff Cohen) from The Goonies

In the years following the saviour of their beloved town and the capture of notorious criminals, The Fratelli's, life is pretty quiet for the Goonies, that is until they are sought out by Tyrion to save Christmas and take down Mrs Claus before it's too late....Can't wait to see everyone else's christmas cast-a-thon posts!

After a devastating earthquake in Nepal in April 2015, the film's marketing campaign was adjusted to include information about how to help relief efforts and to give guidance on how to prepare for natural disasters (e.g. a link to the site prepareandhelp.com was added to the newest trailers)

During some of the more emotional scenes, Amy Adams would sing songs from famous musicals like "Annie" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" in order to cheer herself up. Eventually, Joaquin Phoenix would join in and they would sing together. However, they stopped after they saw Spike Jonze filming them.

The real Wilson reported having a mild dissociative experience while watching the film. He started to believe that Paul Giamatti was the actual Eugene Landy and felt "absolutely in fear" for several minutes.

Man Up (2015)Simon Pegg reported that Lake Bell stayed in character even when not before the camera, so it wasn't until photography was done and she thanked the assembled crew that they realized she wasn't English.

Originally, the film was conceived as a teen comedy. Emma Roberts was set to star as Liv and Nikki Reed as Emma. It was later envisioned as a comedy for young adults with Kate Hudson as Liv and Anne Hathaway as Emma.

This is a semi-autobiographical film loosely based on co-writer/director Stu Zicherman's own experience as an Adult Child of Divorce (A.C.O.D.), one who also helped soothe the conflict between his divorced parents when his sibling got married.

The only other trivia for this is a massive spoiler for Parks & Rec which I read too soon!Mean Girls (2004)Tina Fey and Amy Poehler coached Rajiv Surendra on how to rap for his on-screen performance in the school's Winter Talent Show.Tina Fey and Amy Poehler teaching people to rap should be a movie of its own, period.

Saturday, 28 November 2015

I’m not going to pretend I was excited about this because I
wasn’t, I have never liked James Bond. I
find all the films very samey and nothing new ever happens, to me it all seems
like money that could be better spent.
However, my Dad loves them so as the dutiful Daughter (and because I
want him to see Mockingjay Part 2 with me) I accompanied him to see it.

Do I even need to provide a synopsis? James Bond (Daniel
Craig) receives a cryptic message from the past leading him to a criminal
organisation, that must be stopped. I
wish that could have been longer but I don’t really know what else to say!

Ok, ok I’m going to try and stop sounding so bitter about
this whole thing. In fairness, I didn’t
hate it (I did take 2 naps throughout) but it didn’t keep me gripped nor was I
on the edge of my seat. In fact, instead
of being worried when Bond is in precarious situations, I find myself thinking
‘well Bond will never die’ which kind of takes the edge off it. Furthermore, in the opening Helicopter scene,
I couldn’t help but think that the helicopter would have stalled at numerous
occasions and crashed into hundreds of people, but that’s none of my
business! I know I am being too picky
and fussy because I wasn’t interested in it all and you all know I don’t make
such a fuss over the ‘defying of gravity’ in Fast and the Furious films for example,
which makes me feel mean but I can’t help it, I didn’t enjoy it.

There were bits I did enjoy, I like Q (Ben Whishaw) and how he is
becoming his own character and coming out of his shell a little bit, personally
I would have liked a bit more screen time for him. Also, in going against every review I have
caught on this movie, I liked Christoph Waltz.
I really like him as an actor and when I finally got some screen time, I
woke up and bit and gained some interest. His character’s motives do borderline
on ridiculous and his long speeches lost me around the middle but I think he
has a great presence and the development of his character can’t be blamed on
him as an actor surely.

I have also read that there are lots of inspiration from
previous Bond movies in this installment and die-hard fans who have seen all of
them will love influence they have had on this.
As someone who has only seen Skyfall, once, a long time ago, these
homages to previous movies were lost on me.

I would like to like Bond movies but I just don’t and I
don’t think I ever will.

Thursday, 26 November 2015

So, um, funny story everyone. You know that classic teen comedy that every girl, guy, grown up and their dog has seen, Mean Girls? I haven’t. Well, I have now obviously. But yeah. I really don’t know why, I haven’t been avoiding it or anything, it’s just always been too far down my watch list for too long, I guess. I'm not sure how we are friends!!

Can you keep a secret? I need to tell you what gave me the final push to see it. One of my bridesmaids is also getting married next year, and I’m one of her bridesmaids (I know, right?) and whilst I was getting my first tattoo, she was with me, as well as her other bridesmaid. Still with me? They were both saying the three of us should get tattoos together, all themed around their favourite movie, Mean Girls. Of course, I had to tell them it was my favourite movie too.

They’re going to be love hearts, with the famous quotes in them. I can’t remember what I was allocated, it might have been ‘so fetch’, but the more this conversation went on, the more I wondered if they were joking, and so I figured that if I’m going to end up with a Mean Girls tattoo, I should probably watch the darn movie! Having planned a group tattoo with a group of friends of mine, I would not recommend this! We never quite got round to actually getting said tattoos, which was kind of fortunate as less than a year later there was a big hoohaa and we no longer speak.... my advice never, ever, get matching tattoos with anyone!

So, our main girl Cady (Lindsay Lohan) is the new girl at school, and winds up mixing with ‘the plastics’, Regina (Rachel McAdams), Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) and Karen (Amanda Seyfried). When she falls for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, the plastics put her in her place, and Cady vows to take them down.

I think the main thing I took away from this was the amount of lines I already knew that I can now visualise, but also things friends have said that I never even knew were lines from Mean Girls! It took me a while to get over my friend texting me ‘Boo, you whore’ when I had to cancel plans, I genuinely thought she was really mad at me! I think it may have been at lease 5 years since I used a Mean Girls quote in everyday life, I'm clearly slacking...

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting amazing things from Mean Girls. There are films that 10+ years ago I may have loved, that I probably wouldn’t rate well anymore, and I think I expected everyone’s fascination with Mean Girls to be the same sort of thing, but I really did enjoy it! It was funny throughout, but some lines really made me laugh out loud, which I don’t tend to do when I watch something alone. Did anyone manage to keep a straight face for this line?

“If you’re from Africa, why are you white?”

“Oh my God Karen, you can’t just ask people why they’re white!”

I really love this film, I can honestly say I haven't watched it enough!! In fact, I feel like I need to watch it right now. I still love the slutty jingle bell rock scene and who doesn't LOVE Regina George in all her vileness, Rachel McAdams is a special kind of awesome.All in all, despite the cliches and the predictable nature of it, I really enjoyed Mean Girls, and I’m kicking myself for not watching it years ago. That tattoo won’t be so bad after all I guess, ha! Thankfully it hasn't been mentioned since... phew!!

Wednesday, 25 November 2015

Time for something a little different here at Flick Chicks! Earlier this month we received an email from a lovely chap called Andrew Dawson. Andrew was living in a small town in Poland teaching English when he developed and produced his feature-length movie, Fingerface. With no filmmaking friends to share his enthusiasm at the time, he set out on a massive journey, working as a screenwriter, director, cast, crew, editor, best boy and chief coffee maker in order to get Fingerface made.

So what is Fingerface all about, anyway? Well, put in Andrew’s own words, it’s the greatest love story ever told...with fingers. Yes, you read correctly, the entire cast in this feature-length movie are fingers! Giles is our main man (finger) who falls in love with the girl of his dreams, Stephanie. By chance, he meets her in real life, only his real encounter with Stephanie doesn’t go quite as planned.

Over time, Giles’ quest for love becomes more and more complicated. He learns shocking news about his parents, he gets caught in the middle of a love triangle, and lands himself in a great deal of trouble, all in the name of love!

I have to admit, I had big doubts about Fingerface. I loved the idea of a story told through fingers and thumbs, but I was wary as to how I could be entertained for almost an hour and a half. It all became clear to me after a while though. The story of Giles flies by at a fast pace, but a pace that is entirely necessary. In fact, had this story been told with real-life actors, with actual bodies, I’d complain that the story moved so quickly I had no idea what was going on. I too had my doubts and for the first 20 minutes, I struggled to stop thinking 'these are fingers' and just enjoy the story but after a while I settled into it and actually found myself itching to find out what happens to Giles and his friends.

This is where the concept works perfectly. By using his fingers to tell this story, Andrew has crammed in an incredibly detailed and interesting plot, with twists and turns left right and centre. It’s also surprisingly funny to watch. There are some subtle jokes within the dialogue and indeed, in the hand-drawn sets, and I’m sure there were ones that I missed that a second viewing will reward me with. What amazing detail has been included in the sets, the time it must have taken to create all the different sets and props that were used. I was in awe, especially as the sets change so much and each is completely different from the last. There was some really great sound work as well, I had fun trying to work out if Andrew was making the noises himself and how he was doing two noises at once.By the last 40 minutes, I was really into the story and desperate to see how it ended, there was so many twists and turns that I had no idea how it was going to play out which made it all the more entertaining.

It’s no surprise to me that Fingerface won Best Screenplay at the Sydney Indie Film Festival, and I just want to extend a congratulations again to Andrew for his relentless work. It really paid off! I can't imagine how many hours of work went into this but it is truly an incredible piece of work and Andrew should be really proud of his work.

Fingerface will be released as VOD on 1st December 2015. You can watch the trailer or pre-order the film at https://www.reelhouse.org/andrewdawson/fingerface. If you fancy watching a film like nothing you’ve seen before, I can absolutely recommend this to you. Completely agree, amazing work Andrew!

Tuesday, 24 November 2015

Max (2015) seemed to fall under the radar for me, but I spotted it on IMDB first. A movie about an army dog suffering with PTSD? I’m in. Why do I love to torture myself like this? To say I was disappointed in this movie isn’t fair, but it wasn’t the movie I thought it would be. I was expecting a drama about trying to rehabilitate this beautiful dog, and the question throughout being whether or not it would work or if he would have to be put down, but instead, this was a family orientated action movie. It’s a good one, but not what I was expecting at all.

So, I’m on the hunt for wedding related movies right now, and Bride Wars (2009) was the first on my list. Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway play two best friends who have always dreamed on June weddings at the Plaza Hotel. Of course, after a mishap, their weddings end up scheduled on the same day, and a war breaks out. Going through the planning experience myself, and being bridesmaid for 2 other weddings in the same year as mine, I could ironically relate to many things in this movie, which I think aided in my enjoyment! It’s amazing how the littlest things are huge problems when wedding planning!

In full swing of a Parks and Recreation obsession, I was on the hunt for a light comedy and spotted A.C.O.D. (2013), or Adult Children of Divorce featuring not only the loveable Adam Scott, but Amy Poehler too! Weirdly though, Poehler actually plays Scott’s mother-in-law, and that was a hard pill to swallow throughout. Adam Scott’s on screen brother, Clark Duke is getting married, but their parents are divorced and well, you can probably guess the rest. It had a really promising cast that never got the chance to show their full potential. An entertaining watch, but forgettable.

Sunday, 22 November 2015

You know, whilst I was dreaming up the post for our Christmas Cast-a-Thon, I actually had no idea what kind of cast I was going to create, or what kind of movie it would end up being. I was more excited to see everyone else’s posts! But it would certainly be rude to not take part in your own blogathon! So here’s what I’ve come up with.If you'd like to take part, check out the announcement post here.

Christmas is the perfect time to watch cheesy movies without feeling guilty, so that’s exactly what I’m making here. I’m going for typical rom com with a Christmas flavour!

Santa - Benji, Mission Impossible Series (Simon Pegg)

Let’s say the IMF were shut down. When your entire career is a secret, your CV isn’t going to look that great, and so poor Benji is forced to work at a toy megastore as Santa over the Christmas holidays just to pay the rent.

Just because their job title is ‘Helper’ doesn’t mean they’re actually helpful! Olive is providing all the laughs here with her dry, sarcastic. humour, at the expense of everyone around her. Winston is looking for some extra cash on the side of his cop job, but he’s also Santa’s perfect wingman in his search for true love. Speaking of which…

Married life as a legal secretary and a velociraptor handler is busy, and stressful, and that’s what ultimately led to the divorce of Sabrina and Owen. Sob. Luckily, Sabrina’s best friend Olive just so happens to work very closely with an eligible bachelor. See where this is going?

Child - Alexander, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Ed Oxenbould)

Alexander is having another terrible day it seems. Not only have his parents just finalised their divorce, but he’s being dragged Christmas shopping with his Mum to meet up with his rude Aunt Olive who isn’t even his Aunt, and he’s reached that age where he’s 99.9% certain Santa isn’t real.

Scrooge/Grinch - Dwight, The Office (Rainn Wilson)

Let’s say Dunder Mifflin really did shut down in the end. Things were looking pretty bad, but now Dwight has secured a role as Assistant Store Manager (or should that be Assistant to the Store Manager?) at the city’s biggest toy store. Only thing is, he hates Christmas. The only thing he hates more than Christmas are the company’s new hires, Santa and his Helpers. They spend far too much work time chatting, and Dwight is going to make darn sure all three of them get fired.

Extra Roles:

Grandad - Bryan, The Taken Trilogy (Liam Neeson)

Let’s face it, if you’re going to end up dating the daughter of any Liam Neeson character, especially Bryan Mills, you best make sure you don’t hurt her feelings. Or he’ll find you. And kill you. Wait, no. This is a lighthearted movie! Cool it, Bryan!

I’m cheating a little here. Last week I discovered that this movie existed. I scoffed that Grumpy Cat has his (her??) own Christmas movie. Then I noticed Grumpy Cat is voiced by Aubrey Plaza. Never before have I bought a DVD so quickly! I haven’t watched this yet, but come on, what Christmas Movie is complete without a (dis)loyal family pet?

That’s it! Would you ever consider watching my stereotypical, predictable Christmas Movie? I would, and then I’d add it to my list of guilty pleasures. Can’t wait to see what everyone else comes up with!

Saturday, 21 November 2015

Did you know every movie on IMDB has a Parent’s Guide? It’s a useful tool for parents to decide for themselves if a particular movie is suitable for their child(ren), and I use it a lot to help my Mum and 13 year-old brother. It’s also handy for me to find out if I’m going to be able to sit through any kind of horror movie.

There are categories for sex & nudity, violence & gore, profanity,alcohol/drugs/smoking and frightening/intense scenes, and users are able to fill these categories with scenes of note.

Well, as handy as the Parent’s Guide is, it defines movie moments in such clinical terms, that it’s actually hilarious, and I thought it would be fun to share some of these priceless finds with you all. No spoilers ahead, not to worry!

As Bill goes through a phone, he sees pictures that the owner took, all focusing on a woman's breasts. (Non-Stop)

A dog is briefly seen apparently cut by half during a nightmare sequence; the head end then chases the tail end. (Inside Out)

It is halloween, several characters are dressed up (vampire, skeletons). A man in a tight-fitting costume struggles to get it off in time to go to the bathroom. It later transpires he didn't make it in time. (They Came Together)

Champagne is seen (Flightplan)

A man walks into a couple (sex implied) - we see the other man's buttcheeks for a few seconds, hear a little moaning (no female nudity). (A.C.O.D.)

A man out of nervous anticipation quickly finishes a bottle of beer. (Her)

Insulting another man, a man makes crude, sexually explicit remarks about the other man's wife. (Run All Night)The opening sequence has silhouettes of naked women. (Spectre)

We see Ilsa in a bikini as she gets out of a pool. (Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation)

We hear eerie screeching coming from inside the walls of a maze. (The Maze Runner)

A man is punched in the face. (San Andreas)Vlad mentions "boobies" (Hotel Transylvania 2)A scene is shown where some men have to break into an employer's mother's house to delete an email that her daughter sent her by mistake. (The Intern) - note this is listed under Frightening/Intense scenesA girl yells penis twice. (Hot Pursuit)Sexy dancing at a talent show. (Mean Girls)

Thursday, 19 November 2015

Dell over at dell on Movies has once again offered up an awesome blogathon for us to get our teeth into, this time it's Girl Week. You can find the original post here:

The rules are simple and as follows:

Create a post about a film with a female lead character. It can be a review, but does not have to be one. If it is a review, it doesn't have to be a positive one as I personally did not like every film I'm going to be showcasing this week. However, you are welcome to talk about women in any capacity relating to film.

Use one of the banners I created, or feel free to create one of your own.

Link back to this post.

Leave a link to your post in the comments section below.

Have fun!

I can't think of a better female protaganist than Katniss Everdeen and as I am super excited about the final movie release this weekend, it seemed daft not to comment on the series.

If you don't know about them The Hunger Games is a trilogy of books by Suzanne Collins, recently made into four movies with Jennifer Lawrence in the lead role. Katniss Everdeen spends her life providing for her younger sister and mother and when Prim, her sister gets called up to xxx in The Hunger Games she willingly volunteers to take her place. The Hunger Games is an annual event where 12 girls and 12 boys between 12 and 18 are pitted against each other in an arena for both entertainment and to keep control of the lower classes in Panem. It's a terrifying concept and yes the people of the Capitol watch it on the TV as if its Keeping up with the Kardasians, not young children being slaughtered by each other.

I read the books before the movies were even a blip on the radar and straight away I loved Katniss, I liked the idea that she wasn't always being saved by men, she was the fighter and particularly in the first book/movie she was the one saving everyone. After the popularity of books and movie trilogies like Twilight and Divergent, where the woman is not safe until protected by a big strong man (or two!) it was refreshing to come across a character who could take care of herself and even the people around her.

Although she is a strong female character, it has become apparent to me over the course of reading the books and watching the movies that in the world of Panem there actually is a level of gender equality. The Capitol put together 12 girls and 12 boys in an arena and its considered a fair fights, there are the Careers (volunteers who have trained their whole life to be pulled up and fight) and the regular participants and that is the only divide line. There is no mention of gender in the commentary nor a question when it becomes apparent that Katniss could win.

I may have gone a little off topic here, but I love the idea that Katniss is both a compassionate, heartfelt character that takes care of her little Sister and Rue but also intelligent, strong and skillful enough to win the Hunger Games against 23 (or 22 dependin on how you look at it!) others.

Tuesday, 17 November 2015

I remember seeing this trailer but I forgot all about the film and it must have only been on at the cinema for a day or two for me to miss it. Any who, I luuuuuuuurve Simon Pegg so how could I not love this, although I've yet to like Lake Bell in anything! This is the first I've seen of her actually, but she does have a terrible case of 'resting bitch face'. I feel like we're eyebrow sisters though, so she gets a thumbs up from me!

Nancy (lake Bell) is 34 years old and single and incessantly bothered by family and friends to date and even by strangers on the train. Jack (Simon Pegg) is due to meet his blind date under the clock at the train station and unwittingly assumes Nancy is is date. Following a trail of Secondary School stalkers, ex-wives, drinking, notebooks and divorce papers their first date is not what they expect....

So, here's the thing, I am single, I have been single for 6 years (mostly by choice) mainly because I don't date, I hate everything about it. The awkward silences, what to say and not to say, what to wear...urgh i'm getting stressed just thinking about it. BUT...This film made me look at dating in a different way, I never actually thought dates could be fun - maybe I've never been on a date with the right person but honestly it has broadened by horizons and I think I may reconsider dating in the near future.

Ok, what that a bit too much personal stuff - let me put it into context. I watched this film and I found myself smiling, there was real chemistry between Simon Pegg and Lake Bell that was enjoyable to watch. As with all rom coms I was willing them to get together, I did hope it would be a bit more realistic than it was as the rest of the film had been pretty 'normal' as such. Other than that though, I really enjoyed it and would happily watch it again, if only just for Sean (Rory Kinnear), who was hilarious as Nancy's stalker.

Yeah, I think my only complaint was that the first half of the film was very realistic and true to life, even awkward for all the right reasons, and the second half fell into a bit of silliness, but my face hurt from smiling so I can definitely forgive that! I haven't watched many BBC Films over the years, but recently, every one I have watched I have fallen in love with. Not just enjoyed, but absolutely loved. Partly I think it's down to the humour. Only in the UK can we joke about someone throwing themselves in front of a train, blaming it on the constant delays.

Simon Pegg also proves that you don't need a Hollywood smile and a body fit for Magic Mike to be the leading man of a rom com. He certainly scrubs up well, but he just has a natural charm! This might also be the first film of his where I wasn't pining for Nick Frost to turn up, too!

Some may not enjoy this as much as I did but as you can see it seemed to have an impact on my personal life.

Sunday, 15 November 2015

This was a complete accidental find, I hadn’t even heard of
this film but I love the Beach Boys music so I thought I may enjoy it.It’s based on the true story of Brian Wilson,
who was once a member of and continued to write for the Beach Boys, he wrote
some of their iconic song such as Wouldn't it be nice and Good Vibrations.I can say that the soundtrack to this was
brilliant, I was singing along and I loved hearing the development of the music
as Brian (John Cusack/Paul Dano) was developing it. It was terribly sad to watch his
breakdown over the years but great to see his relationship with Melinda (Elizabeth
Banks) develop and her save him from his manager.Heartwarming and awesome awesome soundtrack.

When I first saw the trailer for this, I thought, great a
rip off of The Heat but not as good.Then I warmed to the idea (since falling in love with Modern Family and
Sophia Vergara) so a quiet Sunday night on the sofa with my duvet led to
this.Turns out I was right the first
time, it was a terrible version of The Heat with Cooper (Reese Witherspoon) as the
‘play by the book’ cop and Mrs Riva (Sophia Vergara) the high maintenance witness in
her ‘care’.The jokes are poor, the story
is worse and the characters are completely unlikeable.Where Sandra Bullock was hilarious in portrayal
of the stick in the mud cop, Witherspoon was just irritating, I know Vergara
can be funny but the script just didn’t give her enough to work with.Pretty poor across the board to be honest.

Vince Vaughn’s movies have always been of the hit and miss
variety, The Internship – big hit, The Delivery Man – big miss!! Unfortunately,
this was the latter.I really wanted to
love it, I really liked the cast and as a story it has kind of potential, it
just didn’t play out well.Honestly, I saw
it a few weeks ago and I can’t remember most of it already.What I do remember was a host of gross out
comedy (if you can call it comedy) and ridiculous surname jokes (Mike Pancake,
really?!).I wont be watching this again
and I am rapidly losing faith in Vince Vaughn as a leading character without
his partner in crime, Owen Wilson.